1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of photofinishing and particularly to a system and method for storing photographic negatives on the back surface of a photographic index print.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Most photographs are produced by: exposing a film to light; developing the film to produce a negative; and processing (printing) the negative to produce a photographic print. The dark areas in the negative allow little light to pass so that the tones in the print appear light as they did in the original scene. Also the negatives from most color films have an overall orange color, and are smaller than the print. Thus, even when the negatives and prints for one or more processed rolls of film are together, it is difficult for an amateur photographer who is not trained to view photographic negatives to determine the negative that was used to produce a specific print.
An amateur photographer may receive the negatives and prints for one or more rolls of processed film in an envelope having two compartments. The negatives are usually placed in one compartment and the prints are usually placed in the other compartment. Some of the prints may be: given away; placed in a photo album; framed; or become separated from the negatives. The envelopes maybe haphazardly thrown in a box and mixed with other envelopes in the box. Thus, when someone wants to order reprints or enlargements of one or more prints it may be difficult to locate the negatives that correspond to the prints that they want to order.
When the prints and negatives are packaged together in an envelope, the negatives are susceptible to scratching and contamination from dust, dirt and/or fingerprints because the envelope does not provide a damage-free environment for the negatives. The various forms of negative damage mentioned above will reduce the quality of the reprints and enlargements that are made from the negatives.
Sometimes an amateur photographer places the negatives in wax or plastic sleeves to protect and store the negatives and accidentally damages the negatives as they are inserted into the sleeves. Furthermore, the above procedure is time consuming.
Manico et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,773 entitled "Photographic Image Set", which was assigned to Eastman Kodak Company, discloses a photographic image set that includes an index print which is integrally stored with the associated negative strips to provide a convenient single storage and retrieval system. A translucent layer of glue, double stick tape, or any conventional adhesive is used for laminating a sleeve or holder for the negatives to the index print. While the disclosed holder for storing a photographic image set has proved to be highly satisfactory, the tape or adhesive increases the cost of the sleeving material and conventional cutting and sleeving equipment cannot be used with the adhesive backed sleeves without significant modifications. In addition, after use, the clear plastic adhesive cover sheet must be disposed.